Deke Bellavia

Deke: Bobby & Hokie declare offense wins Saints camp today

by Deke Bellavia,posted Jul 26 2014 2:41PM

The Saints got back to work this morning at the Advocare Facility at the Greenbrier, and after stretching, the team then worked on drills in position groups. I checked out the Saints defensive linemen. After praising his players on day one, Saints D-line coach Bill Johnson felt like he was not getting the maximum effort from his players. "I know how to spread the red ass. This is an important drill," yelled Johnson.

The D-linemen were working on pass rushing techniques among each other. "It's an important drill because we are trying to get as many good looks as we can before we get into live action," said Saints D-line coach Bill Johnson. The Saints defense did not have a good practice this morning as defensive coordinator Rob Ryan said his defense got their butts kicked this morning. Ryan addressed the media after practice.

After position group work, the horn sounded and the Saints went into the team portion of practice. The Saints offense took on the Saints defense on the far fields at the practice facility. On the first play, QB Drew Brees hit WR Andy Tanner for what looked to be about a seven yard gain. Then, on the very next play, the defense blew up a would-be reverse by the offense.

A host of Saints defenders led by Rafael Bush stopped WR Robert Meachum in the backfield for a big loss on the play. RB Khiry Robinson then took a handoff and exploded off the left side for a nice gain.

The best play by the offense came next when Brees hit WR Nick Toon for a 25 yard gain. Toon slipped past the LB's and beat David Hawthorne. Brees laid the ball perfectly in Toon's hands.

The overall play of the day came when TE Jimmy Graham snagged a one handed catch while in traffic, then turned upfield and went in for a score with an exclamation point dunk over the goal post.

Bobby's Take

The first thing that the Cannon pointed out to me was the play of RB Khiry Robinson. "Robinson looks real good out there. He's a shifty back and he looks to be in tip top shape." Robinson just continues to use his speed and cuts in making nice runs at each practice.

Bobby gave the Saints offense the edge at today's practice. "You could hear coach Ryan (Rob) and coach Vitt (Joe) yelling at the defense. The offense definitely had the upper hand today."

LB Rufus Johnson Jr. was a bright spot, as he picked up a sack at practice, and CB Patrick Robinson looked good as he broke passes on back-to-back plays during team drills.

"LB Kyle Knox did a good job as he knocked the ball out of Brandin Cooks hands. I thought that Junior Gallette looked good when he stopped WR Robert Meachum on a reverse this morning."

Bobby also liked rookie WR Brandin Cooks' play today. "He really does a good job of plucking the ball out of the air. Cooks can have a good year if he keeps moving in the right direction."

Hokie's Call

Hokie Gajan got a birds eye view of today's morning practice, watching from the stands where the fans are permitted to sit during practice.

"I like the view from up there. It allows me to see things open up and really focus in on certain areas of the game." Hokie said that the Saints should be better this season in the kick and punt return department.

"They have a lot of speed back there, and whoever they decided to go with will give the Saints a good opportunity to get good field position." RB Khiry Robinson, and WR's Charles Hawkins and Brandin Cooks were the main players fielding punts and kicks during special team's work this morning.

Hokie said that the Saints are continuing to work on their running game and stopping the run in the early phases of team drills. "The entire first team period was devoted to working on the run game. All the plays were runs. And this gives the coaches an idea of who's in the right place and who's on the play when they break down film after practice."

Hokie said that once the Saints put on the full pads, he will be able to judge better which side of the ball is winning those run drill battles. Overall, Hokie says "It was another pretty good day out there. The weather was once again nice and I thought it was a productive practice."

You know sometimes when you're at practice, and you hear a loud beep beep beep sound? That's a cherry picker, and three of them sit above the field and each one has a cameramen on board.

Those cameramen are filming practice from different angles. One angle is a sideline view, and the other two are end-zone looks. As you know, the NFL is all business, and time is of the essence. Just like the hands on a clock ticking, each second of practice is accounted for, and a lot of what is done off the field to better prepare during camp largely depends on the practice film.

Usually after a few drills or periods, the cameraman at each station takes the DVD out of his camera. He then places that DVD inside a NERF ball and throws it down to the field. From there, a staff member scoops up the ball and runs it inside to the Saints video department. And then those people inside begin to break down each play and phase of each practice for the coaches.

Some coaches are looking for special things, and the cameramen are taught to record what that particular position coach is looking for. And then when the team meetings take place, they roll that beautiful bean footage so everyone can take a close, careful look at what players are doing.